Connecticut Working Families | Vote your values. Vote Working Families.

A new national poll of 1,493 voters affirms that paid sick days are important to the vast majority of Americans across demographic and political groups. 77 percent of poll respondents believe that paid sick days are a very important worker's right; 86 percent of respondents favor (and 75 percent strongly favor) a law creating a basic labor standard that would guarantee all workers a minimum number of paid sick days. The poll also shows slightly higher support for paid sick days in New England than in the nation, with 91 percent of voters showing support for paid sick days as a basic workplace standard.

These results closely parallel results of a poll conducted in Connecticut this spring by Bannon Communications. That poll demonstrated that 87 percent of Connecticut voters support paid sick days as a basic labor standard.

The more recent poll was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and funded by the Public Welfare Foundation.

"Paid sick days continues to poll very highly among all groups," said Jon Green, director of Connecticut Working Families. "It doesn't matter whether you're a Republican or Democrat, young or old, Mac or PC user, or lover of chunky or smooth peanut butter. Everyone gets that when workers have to go to work sick, it isn't healthy for any of us."

Working Families is a coalition of community organizations, labor unions and neighborhood activists united "to fight for a fair economy." The organization was formed to inject issues such as access to health care, affordable housing and livable wages and fair labor standards into public debate, and to hold politicians accountable on those issues.

During this year's legislative session, a bill that would have allowed all workers at businesses of 50 or more employees to accrue paid sick days was passed with support of Democrats and Republicans alike throughout the State Senate. However, it failed to be called for a vote in the House.

"Everybody gets sick," said state Sen. Edith Prague, D-19th District, co-chair of the labor committee. "Even Gov. Rell said no one should go to work sick. It would be nice if everybody was able to stay home when they're sick"

"This poll again confirms what many of us in Connecticut already know," said state Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-139th District, co-chair of the labor committee. "The issue of providing paid sick days is an issue whose time has come. In Connecticut and throughout the U.S., people are solidly behind this common-sense workplace standard and public health measure."

The poll is encouraging for candidates who support paid sick days as a basic labor standard. It indicates that 46 percent of voters are more likely to support and elected to office a candidate who supports paid sick days, compared to only 10 percent who are less likely. The Working Families Party, which has cross-endorsed candidates for state and federal office this year, supports the legislation.

Kia Murrell, spokesperson for the 10,000-member Connecticut Business & Industry Association,agrees that "everyone who is sick should be able to stay home." Murrell, assistant counsel for CBIA, said "the reality is that businesses who provide [sick] benefits are making the same choices their employees do. The majority of businesses in the state are not multi-national corporations, but Mom-and-pop startups or long-held family businesses struggling to compete in one of the most expensive places in the country."

Murrell added that every time the sick leave bill comes up "the number of employees affected changes. It started off being all employees, then it went to 25, then 25 to 50. Basically, they're toying with a magic number that will make this concept OK."

According to Murrell, the push for paid sick days is part of a national campaign by Working Families.

"They're going from one state capitol to another trying to figure out what state they can force to do this first," she said. "New Jersey recently came up with a paid sick day measure signed by the governor; it's now law. But that's different from Connecticut. In New Jersey cost is partly covered by employees. If you're going to make all employers in Connecticut subject to one policy irrespective of resources, their operational and business demands, the make-up of the workforce, you're going to force employers to cut back in other ways to compensate. People aren't growing their business in a tough economy. Why give them another reason to pick up and relocate to another state?"


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